Finding the Right DevOps for CI/CD

Agile continuous delivery in software development involves several methodologies to make all the processes smooth, fast, and effective. CI CD DevOps methodologies refer to Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery.

CI/CD services mean constant automation, testing, and monitoring to create a software development pipeline. They bring the operations and development team together. Finding the right DevOps for CI/CD requires considering various factors, including the advantages to hire PHP developer UK and collaborating with a skilled Unity VR developer to create a well-rounded team capable of tackling complex projects.

As these practices ensure fast delivery and improve software quality, they are an essential part of DevOps consulting services. And they also have become software development standards in the industry worldwide.

The Difference Between CI and CD

CI & CD services have different meanings. CI always refers to Continuous Integration, but CD can actually mean two things: Continuous Delivery or Continuous Deployment. All three of them are parts/stages of the same software lifecycle, but they are different in their nature. So how do DevOps CI/CD services differ, and what do they mean? Let’s look at each one separately.

CI or continuous integration DevOps means merging all the updates as fast as possible. Before developers would work on their code separately and then merge it all in a merge day, it resulted in many bugs, errors, and compatibility issues.

Continuous integration services involve merging new code to the main branch/repository as often as possible, even several times a day. And debugging and testing happens automatically. It increases visibility and communication between developers and operations teams and decreases the number of issues and possible errors. It also makes sure that a new integration doesn’t craft the app.

DevOps continuous delivery is the next step in the software development process. It is designed to automatically deploy all the new code to a testing or production environment. So after the new code is merged to the repository, it is automatically released. As a result, the software can be deployed with only one click after. As you explore the best options for DevOps in CI/CD, don’t overlook the importance of weighing the pros and cons of offshoring vs onshoring, and considering the advantages of software development in Latin America, which can provide cost-effective and high-quality solutions to help you achieve your goals.

The continuous deployment process is the third step in the app lifecycle. It just takes automation one step further. No longer needs one to click anything to deploy new code – it is done automatically as well. There is no human involvement in the process of software testing, merging, delivery, and deployment. It allows any changes or updates to go live in just minutes, which is incredible.

Here is how all of these processes align together in a software development CI/CD pipeline:

Pros and Cons of DevOps CI/CD Practices

Before we dive into the benefits of continuous integration, delivery, and continuous deployment services, it is essential to note that cons are rather risks. As with any other strategy, if not done right, it can result in errors. Overall, DevOps continuous integration, delivery, and deployment are beneficial practices adopted by thousands of companies worldwide.

Continuous Integration Microservices

Pros:

  • Transparency and communication between dev and operations teams;
  • Significantly reduces compatibility errors and bugs;
  • Automated testing decreases the number of mistakes that can get to the production environment;
  • Building and release is fast and easy;
  • Any issues can be resolved daily, fast response;
  • Decreased cost of testing as CI server runs hundreds of tests at the same time.

Cons:

  • Requires writing automated tests of the highest quality;
  • Teams need to adjust to a new method of work;
  • One needs to set up a separate CI server for testing.

Continuous Delivery DevOps

Pros:

  • No need to spend time in preparation to release;
  • All tasks for the preparation of the software are done automatically;
  • Allows releasing updates more often;
  • Less pressure on making small decisions and changes;

Cons:

  • CI should be running smoothly to upgrade to CD;
  • Puts more pressure on automated testing and debugging;
  • Deployment is still not automated, so there is a need for human involvement.

Continuous Deployment System

Pros:

  • No human involvement needed for the software development pipeline;
  • Regular releases and updates;
  • Ability to bring new code to users in minutes;
  • There are fewer risks in releases faster, and any bugs are easier to fix because they are deployed in small batches.  
  • Finishes the effective and fast software delivery pipeline.

Cons:

  • The quality of the automated testing directly impacts the quality of releases;
  • It is important to maintain proper documentation of all processes.

The Most Popular CI/CD Tools

Whether you are interested in Azure, GCP, or AWS continuous integration and continuous delivery services, there are plenty of tools to choose from. They help to implement these practices into the company’s work. Here are the most used software tools for CI/CD.

Jenkins

Jenkins continuous delivery is almost a buzzphrase in the IT industry, as it is a well-known open-source solution. It is an automation server that can handle simple CI and a huge CD hub as well. It is based on Java and can work with Windows, macOS, and Unix systems. It is easy to install, free to use, and has a huge library of community-contributed plugins.

CircleCI

Despite the name, this tool supports both CI and CD. It allows automation from building code to deployment. It works perfectly with GitHub and Bitbucket. And the tool hosts integration and continuous delivery cloud. It uses a container system or virtual machine.

TeamCity

This CI server is excellent for a multitude of projects. It is based on the Java environment, IDEs, and Visual Studio. The tools work with Unix systems as well as Windows.

TeamCity integrated with GitLab. One of the great functions is the opportunity to reuse the parent project settings to the subprojects, which saves lots of time. It can also run parallel builds, provides history reports, and is very flexible in user management.

GitLab

This is an all-in-one suite of tools for almost any aspect of software development. The web-based repository allows tracking issues and analysis. One can trigger builds, run various tests, and deploy code with this tool. It can be done via Docker container, virtual machine, or separate server.

It covers all parts of CI/CD and ensures all types of testing, like container scanning, SAST, and DAST.

Travis CI

This one also works great with the GitHub repository. Another great feature is that it has many build configurations available for Node, Java, Perl, C++, Python, and PHP. It allows deploying multiple cloud servers and has a fast setup. There are preinstalled database services, and they can be used in macOS, iOS, and Unix systems.

Codeship

Codeship helps with automatic releases and testing optimization. It can be integrated with any tool or cloud environment. Another advantage is simple UI and fast builds opportunity. It is perfect for Amazon continuous delivery and AWS instances size. One can set up roles and user permissions as well as notifications.

Nevercode

Nevercode is an amazing solution for mobile app CI/CD development. It works both for native and cross-platform apps and ensures automation and optimization. Its main features are automatic configuration, test automation, including parallel testing, and auto-publishing.

Spinnaker

Multi-cloud continuous deployment DevOps is this software’s specialty. So it is widely used by companies working with several cloud solutions. It uses Git events, Jenkins, Docker, and Travis CI. The tool provides all necessary features for easy and scalable CI/CD pipeline integration.

The Roles and Responsibilities of CI/CD DevOps

The continuous integration DevOps responsibilities include:

  • Project planning (Agile methodology adoption, CI/CD approach, creating of integration plans);
  • App and infrastructure development (scripts and plugins for automation; configuration and optimization of infrastructure, usage of IaC solutions:
  • App and infrastructure testing (advanced testing processes, setting test tools and practices, code inspection, and fast response to any pipeline issues, creation of reliable and secure pipelines);
  • Automation implementation (environment scaling, advancing pipelines, altering CI/CD practices when needed);
  • Monitoring and control (alerting, logging, tracing);
  • Deployment in terms of internal and external releases;
  • Maintenance of the system and incident management;
  • Security;
  • Working on documentation.

DevOps professionals can also be busy with one of the following roles:

  • Evangelist/consultant;
  • Release manager;
  • Automation expert;
  • Software developer;
  • QA and XA expert;
  • Security DevOps.

Common Challenges of CI/CD Practices Adoption

Whether one is looking for CI CD DevOps Puppet or the same functionality with other tools, there are common challenges to address.

Limited environment. Limited resources can lead to many delays and errors, especially when there is a shared testing environment. It doesn’t always work smoothly with CI/CD, and in the case of parallel testing can lead to environment configuration issues. All of that leads to failed tests and failed deployments.

The best solution is a separate dedicated testing environment on the cloud.

Ownership. Bugs and errors are quite normal, and it is important to resolve them quickly. But when they are found in the later stage, it is hard to identify the failure cause. This results in delays and wasted resources. The solution is easily identifiable tests and code. DevOps need to assign ownership roles to developers working on the project.

Multiple pipelines for complex projects. It is not a risk but rather a concern when working on large-scale projects. The solution to parallel work and development is in the standardization of pipeline templates across the whole organization. They need to be optimized by experienced professionals.

Security. It is crucial to implement the most advanced security measures in the CI/CD pipeline. These include different types of security testing like SAST, SCA, and DAST. The issue is resolved with an expert choosing the best tools for this particular system.

Implementation coordination. There is a risk of compatibility issues when CI and CD practices are implemented separately. A team can go to CD only when CI is set, tested, and proven to work perfectly. And it has to be done by the same team or in close cooperation to ensure continuity.

Implement CI/CD Practices with Mobilunity

Mobilunity is a Ukrainian outstaffing company that has already helped more than 40 different companies to find the best IT specialists for their projects.

We have been working for more than a decade in this field and know exactly how to match businesses with top-notch Ukrainian developers’ talent. We have clients all over the world, such as Paidy (Japan), BIG-E (Denmark), 3-Joueur (Canada), Buttonorder (Germany), and Codename (France). You can contact us for hiring skilled and experienced TIBCO developer for your needs!

Mobilunity is your trustful provider when it comes to hiring an excellent DevOps team for your business. We ensure an easy and transparent process, as well as satisfaction with results.

Looking to hire DevOps CI/CD Experts in Ukraine? Contact Our Team!

All salaries and prices mentioned within the article are approximate NET numbers based on the research done by our in-house Recruitment Team. Please use these numbers as a guide for comparison purposes only and feel free to use the contact form to inquire on the specific cost of the talent according to your vacancy requirements and chosen model of engagement.

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